Job Discussion Forums

[rslrunner]

It is in the interest of every non-Japanese employee in the eikaiwa industry to join the General Union.

Here is why:

1. Any employee can join the General Union. You don’t have to be a long-time resident of Japan. As soon as you are hired, you should join.

2. The need for union protection in the eikaiwa industry is overwhelming. There are too many incidents which demonstrate an atmosphere of exploitation.

3. The benefits outweigh the costs. $300 will save you in thousands of working unpaid overtime, or will earn you thousands of overtime that you actually decide to work.

4. It is your right to join a General Union. It cannot be held against you. That is the law.

5. If every new employee joined the General Union, it would transform the eikaiwa industry. Its worst excesses would disappear, and the lives of thousands of teachers can be freed of fear and excessive manipulation.

This forum is for the benefit of the teachers. Every teacher should know their rights, and understand that a $300 investment would be a wise one in the eikaiwa environment as it currently exists.

Of course, I have no affiliation with the General Union. I have never been contacted by anyone at the General Union. I have never been a member. I do not make a yen by posting this.

[mitsui]

Agreed.

I am a member of the sister union, Tozen.

[jrwhisky]

I had no idea these existed. I'm not big on unions back in the states they don't offer anything but limitations now a days. You can't work at a grocery store in the states without joining one and be forced to pay fees. Or face severe punishment if you're an aspring actor who tries to avoid joining the Union they will black list you so unless you got George Clooney status going you're totally screwed.

How do said groups work in Japan? do they work with your employers funneling your cash from employer to employee as a middle man checking to see all your hours have been accounted for? Or do they just represent you in a legal way when things messy?

[Pitarou]

Thank you, rslrunner, for reminding us of the General Union's existence, but as usual, you go much too far.

[mitsui]

You pay the dues once a month.
I just pay 2300 yen.

They have lawyers and help with disputes

[ssjup81]

I really wish I was in one now. I feel I'm being cheated by my former employer...

[mitsui]

I think disputes have up to seven years to go to small claims court.

[rslrunner]

[Maitoshi]

I'll take this one! When the person has fully considered the decision relative to his or her situation. Perhaps consulting someone with some actual experience would be a part of the due diligence process.

[Maitoshi]

We all know just how much stock you put in due diligence, don't we

[Pitarou]

[rxk22]

Pitarou pretty much nailed it. Japanese unions tend to be fairly weak, as that is how Post War Japan and the US wanted things. Also Japanese labor laws are pretty much toothless.

Toyota just had some record breaking profit, yet the raises that the union accepted were one of the lowest raises in Toyota history. The union just accepted it, and that was that.

I would love it if people working at eikaiwas didn't have to work during their 10 min breaks. Or if they at least could get them credited as actual working hours. I just doubt the union can/will do anything. As a lot of it is cultural, and not always pushed from the top.
Look at the fed govt here, their finance ministry or something, turns off the lights at 10pm, yet there are still employees left working. You can't stop that with a union, unless you get like the US. You have to fire people who do anything off the clock, and punish the employers. That simply won't happen here though.

I work at a private school, and I put in almost an hour of extra face time/OT everyday. If I didn't I would be looked down upon, and that would hurt my dept. Just how it is.

BTW if anyone is looking to come to Japan, look up things like this. Don't be like the TS and waltz in here knowing little. Also in another thread, we had someone show shock at the exchange rate, that should be something in your top 10 to know list.

[rslrunner]

This is what I'm hearing: the unions can't do much. The culture here is too deeply ingrained. One has to go along to get along. It can't be helped. This view is consistent with Japanese culture.

But I am focused on the young, impressionable Westerners who come here for one to two years. I have one simple question: Why should these newbies be pushed around for the sake of going along to get along?

The abuses that have been occurring in the eikaiwa industry have been consistent and unrelenting over the years. I think the book English to Go is a game-changer in alerting people to the overall situation:

http://www.amazon.com/English-Go-Inside-teaching-sweatshops/dp/150535093X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434375542&sr=8-1&keywords=english+to+go

My views about Aeon are clear, but the whole eikaiwa industry is both covetous and eerie. Gaba and Interac are the worst. (Interac's new teacher orientation is even more cultish than Aeon's. Ever wonder why Interac makes trainees deliberately uncomfortable like making rooms freezing cold? Or the inexcusable browbeating of people by a presenter? Those are cult techniques.)

How to change the situation? Well, going along to get along won't cut it. Having an advocate willhelp, especially if one is not willing to fight on your own.

The need for the union is desperate, but because of a climate in which too many people in the industry believe it is their God-given right to push Westerners around.

Joining the union immediately after starting in Japan sets the tone and puts the employee on notice that manipulative conduct will be counter-productive.

Telling people that joining a union won't help is fatalism, especially because it would not take much more activism to make the eikaiwa experience three to four levels more pleasant for its employees.

Some people are saying that the union will not make a difference. Some are also saying the General Union is a part of the companies. I do not believe either of these things. It is up to the people saying these things to prove it. I for one believe that the claims made by the General Union on its website are accurate, and that they can make a difference. If these claims are wrong, then one has to come out and say it. if these claims are correct, than the $300 a year can help an employee avoid hundreds of hours of unpaid overtime.

As an outsider, I am the perfect person to be advocating for these things. Westerners in Japan can't rock the boat, and prefer to go along to get along, as they want to blend with the culture. But that won't solve the problems here. Too much power presides in people over foreigners who are often young, impressionable and in a totally unfamiliar environment. And when you give one group too much power over people, bad things happen.

Being treated badly is not a cultural norm. To the new teachers in Japan, stand up for yourself. Protect yourself. Live your life with constancy and security. Join the General Union.


http://generalunion.org/Joomla/index.php/en/

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[Pitarou]